Wrote Letter L-557 of 1717-08-26 to Herman Boerhaave, following up on Letter L-546, about a ram's seed balls, vas deferens, and epididymis, millet grains or mustard seeds as units of measurement, sperm compared smaller little animals, and a sperm’s tail

Date: 
August 26, 1717
Standard reference information
L-number: 
L-557
Leeuwenhoek's number: 
XLI
Collected Letters volume: 
18

Following up on his previous letter to Boerhaave, Letter L-546 of 21 November 1716, Leeuwenhoek investigated the seed balls of a ram. He described the structure and the function of the vas deferens and the epididymis. Because Leeuwenhoek had experienced that grains of sand do not have a uniform size, he used millet grains or mustard seeds as units of measurement. He compared sperm to much smaller little animals, speculating about the structure of a sperm’s tail.

 

following up on Letter L-546, about a ram's seed balls, vas deferens, and epididymis, millet grains or mustard seeds as units of measurement, sperm compared smaller little animals, and a sperm’s tail